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A drovers' road, drove ''roador droveway is a route for
droving Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding. Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs—has a very long history in the Old World. An owner might entrust an agent to deli ...
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
on foot from one place to another, such as to
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
or between summer and winter
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
(see
transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; others are known to date back to
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
or more recent times.


Description

Drovers' roads are often wider than other roads, able to accommodate large herds or flocks.
Packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...
ways were quite narrow as the horses moved in single file, whereas drove roads were at least and up to wide.Addison (1980), Pp. 70-78. In the United Kingdom, where many original drovers' roads have been converted into single carriageway
metalled road A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobble ...
s, unusually wide verges often give an indication of the road's origin. In Wales, the start of many droveways, drovers' roads are often recognisable by being deeply set into the countryside, with high earth walls or hedges. The most characteristic feature of these roads is the occasional sharp turn in the road, which provided cover for animals and men in severe rain or snow. Some drovers' roads crossed mountains. It is likely that the so-called ''Roman Steps'' in the
Rhinogydd The Rhinogydd (a Welsh plural form, often anglicised as Rhinogs and also known by the alternative Welsh plural Rhinogau) are a range of mountains located east of Harlech in North Wales. The name ''Rhinogydd'' derives from the names of two of the ...
in Wales is an example of a drove road.


Drovers

''Drovers'' (those droving or driving livestock) accompanied their livestock either on foot or on
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
back, travelling substantial distances. Rural England, Wales and Scotland are crossed by numerous drove roads that were used for this trade, many of which are now no more than tracks, and some lost altogether. The word "drover" (porthmon in Welsh) is used for those engaged in long distance tradedistances which could cover much of the length of Britain or other world regions where droving was usedwhile "cattle driver" was used for those taking cattle to local markets. Drovers used dogs to help control the stock, and these would sometimes be sent home alone after a drove, retracing their outward route and being fed at inns or farms the drove had 'stanced' at; the drover would pay for their food on his next journey. A newspaper reported that the dogs mostly used in London for droving to the outlying butcheries and depots were principally collies, but in this show were a few of the old English bob-tailed animals seldom seen in London except on show, and not so often seen in the country as was the case thirty or forty years ago. Controlling herds of three or four hundred animals on narrow roads, keeping them healthy, and feeding them ''en route'' over several weeks or months required expertise and authority. There was licensing under legislation introduced in 1563 intended to control "
badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...
" of grain and drovers of cattle, although it seems to have been less rigorously applied to drovers. Drovers' dogs were also licensed. They were also exempted from the
Disarming Act The Disarming Act (1 George 1 session 2 C.26) was an 18th-century Act of Parliament of Great Britain that was enacted to curtail Jacobitism among the Scottish clans in the Scottish Highlands after the Jacobite rising of 1715. The new law, which ca ...
s of 1716 and 1748, which were passed after
Jacobite risings , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...
. They were not necessarily literate but were respected as experts in their trade.


Early history

Some form of drovers' roads existed in
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
times and certainly throughout the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
. For example, the old east-west drovers' road connecting the
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
/
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
region with London and thence
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
is along a similar alignment to the
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
of the same route. Many lengths of the
Welsh Road The Welsh Road, also known as the Welshman's Road or the Bullock Road, was a drover's road running through the English Midlands, used for transporting cattle from North Wales to the markets of South East England. Drovers and their herds would fol ...
through the
English Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
coincide with manorial or parish boundaries, suggesting that it predates them and probably had pre-Roman origins as an
ancient trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackway ...
.


Medieval drovers' roads

In Great Britain, ''Drove'' as a
placename Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
can be traced to the early 13th century, and there are records of
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
driven from Wales to London and sheep from
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in the early 14th century. Drovers from Scotland were licensed in 1359 to drive stock through England.Official Publication (1825). Rymer, ''Foedera'', III, Record Comm.Edn., 1825, III, part 1, 415. Quoted in Haldane (1997), P 11. These may be simply the earliest records of a more ancient trade. There is increasing evidence for large-scale cattle-rearing in
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
and
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
Britain. Cattle and
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
were part of the
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
economy. By the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
period there was long distance movement of cattle, including stolen stock. What is certain is that during the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
period there was a substantial trade in
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
out of Wales into England, to which cattle from Ireland were added. These were driven across
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
and
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
to feed the growing population of London. The drovers made use of ancient ridgeways, including
the Ridgeway The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...
over the
Berkshire Downs The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...
, and ridgeways still known as the Old Shaftesbury Drove and the Ox Drove leading from
Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...
and
Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and i ...
to
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
. Medieval drovers' roads were wide by medieval standards, 20 metres across, with wide grazing verges on either side, the "
long acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and l ...
". In
medieval Spain Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the History of Spain that began in the 5th Century following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the Early modern period in 1492. The history of Spain is marked by waves ...
the existence of migratory flocks on the largest scale, which were carefully organised through the system of the '' Mesta'', gave rise to orderly drovers' roads, called ''cabañeras'' in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
, ''carreradas'' in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, ''azadores reales'', emphasising royal patronage, in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, and most famous of all, ''cañadas'', including three major ''cañadas reales'', in Castile. Along these grazing trackways, sheep travelled for distances of 350 to 450 miles (560 to 725 km), to the summer pasturages of the north, around León,
Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 (INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial population. ...
, Cuenca and
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...
, from the middle of April, and returning to winter pasturage in
La Mancha La Mancha () is a natural and historical region located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, and Toledo. La Mancha is an arid but fertile plateau (610 m or 2000 ft) that stretches from the mountains of Toledo to the ...
,
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
,
Alcántara Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atteste ...
and the lowlands of
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
. In
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
the transhumance pathways, more restricted by agriculture and orchards and less organized than those of Iberia, were the ''drailles'' that fed into the main ''carraïres'', which led from coastal plains to summer mountain pastures. They are documented from the 13th century and were organised in the 16th century by ''Statuts de la transhumance''. In some areas, such as on
Mont Lozère Mont Lozère ( oc, Mont Losera) is the highest peak in the Cévennes, a subrange of the Massif Central in France. It is above sea level and lies within the Cévennes National Park. Mont Lozère is commonly used for skiing during the winter mont ...
, the ''drailles'' were marked by ''montjoies'' (standing stones). In the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
, patterns of transhumance established in Late Antiquity were codified by
Frederick II Hohenstaufen Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusal ...
, but the arrival of rulers of Aragon in the 15th century saw the organisation of sheepways, ''tratturi delle pecore'' on the Aragonese model, and pastoralists were given privileges and restrictions, collectively termed the ''dogana'', that were reminiscent of those of the ''Mesta''. This established drovers' roads that continued without substantial change into the age of the railway.


17th century onwards

By the 17th century
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
described Smithfield, in London, as the greatest meat market in the world. In 1855 it was moved to the outskirts of the city, to a site known as the
Caledonian Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. ...
on Caledonian Road,
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, to avoid the problems of large numbers of stock being driven through the streets. Cattle were also driven to other major cities, to areas of intermediate grazing to be fattened for market, and to markets and fairs. Many of the greatest stock fairs, such as Tan Hill, Yarnbury and White Sheet in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, were held on ancient sites to which cattle were driven for centuries, perhaps since prehistoric times.
Geese A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...
,
turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
s,
pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
s, and
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s and in some cases
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s were also driven to markets. Large quantities were driven to London. Cattle were shod with iron shoes; geese could be driven through a pan of tar mixed with sawdust, grit or ground shells or fitted with pads to protect their feet. The feet of turkeys could be tarred and sanded.Haldane (1997) p 34. Daniel Defoe recorded that 150,000 turkeys were driven from
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
to London each year, the journey taking three months to complete. There is reported to be a record of a wager in 1740 on whether geese or turkeys would travel fasterthe winner being the geese which could graze as they moved, while the turkeys had to stop to be fed. Repeatedly, regulations were put in place to try to control outbreaks of cattle disease and these included the drovers' activities. Penalties of £50 or more could be imposed. During one disease outbreak, drovers were no longer able to take their dogs into Ireland. The regularity of the Welsh trade across Wiltshire is proved by an inscription in Welsh on an old inn (now a private house) in Stockbridge, still visible in the twentieth century: ''Gwair tymherus porfa flasus'' (worthwhile grass and a pleasant pasture) and ''Cwrw da cwal cysurus'' (good beer and a comfortable shelter). Much of the trade in cattle from Wales to London was done on
letters of credit A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exp ...
. In 1706 the law was changed specifically to prevent drovers escaping their debts by declaring themselves bankrupt. The trade promoted the development of
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
ing systems in both London and Wales. David Jones, a farmer's son, came into contact with the drovers whilst employed at the King's Head in Llandovery and set up his own Black Ox Bank in
Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Histo ...
in 1799; the bank issued its own bank notes. The bank survived until 1909 when it was taken over by
Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
.


Long acre

The ''long acre'' is a traditional term for wide grassy road verges. In some places, such as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the British Isles, rural roads are often separated from adjoining paddocks and fields by both a hedge or fence and a wide grass verge. Rather than leaving this verge fallow, farmers often tether livestock on it to use
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
feed (in the form of the grass) that would otherwise be wasted. Historically, the long acre was also grazed by herds or flocks moving from place to place, either on long journeys, or from one small local field to another. The long acre provided an important resource for such flocks and herds, perhaps forming a significant part of a small farmer's pasture. In Australia, the most common method of keeping grazing stock off a road is by the use of a portable
electric fence An electric fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter people or animals from crossing a boundary. The voltage of the shock may have effects ranging from discomfort to death. Most electric fences are used for agricultural fencing an ...
, visible to the stock and to passing travellers as a single white tape. The use of the long acre as pasture has sometimes become formalised. For example, in parts of England, some have been registered as
common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
. In some cases the herbage of the drove was rented out to local farmers for grazing. The related term ''long paddock'' is occasionally encountered in Australia with the same meaning, although the term also has a more specific historical meaning, relating to the cross-country droving of cattle between Queensland and New South Wales along what is now the route of the
Cobb Highway Cobb Highway is a state highway in the Riverina, western Riverina and the Far West (New South Wales), far western regions of New South Wales, with a short section in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, designated part of route B75. Initia ...
.


Drover's House

Whilst drovers often slept in the open, there were pubs that catered for the needs of drovers and their stock. One such was the Tydd Gote Inn, advertised as a Drover's House.


Decline of droving

Droving declined during the nineteenth century, through a combination of agricultural change, the introduction of railway transport from the 1840s, cattle disease, and more intensive use of the countryside through which the stock had passed for hundreds of years. For example, importation of cattle from
Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and t ...
in Ireland to
Portpatrick Portpatrick is a village and civil parish in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway. The parish is about in length and in breadth, covering . History ...
, which would then be driven through
Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...
, had reached 20,000 per year in 1812, but fell to 1,080 in 1832, because they came by steamer directly to ports at
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
instead.Haldane (1997), Chapter 12: ''The Decline of the Drove Roads''. As the use of driveways declined and rights of way and responsibility for maintenance were disputed, evidence of usage by drivers could be given in court, as happened in
Wisbech St Mary Wisbech St Mary is a village in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England. It is west of the town of Wisbech. It lies between two roads, the B1169 and the A47. The population of the civil parish (including Guyhirn and Thorney Toll) at th ...
,
Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that ...
in 1843. Drovers' rights to occupy a stance and pasture their cattle was also being challenged. The last recorded large-scale cattle drove across Wales was in 1870,Hindle (1993), Chapter 6: ''Drove roads and packhorse tracks''. and of sheep in 1900, although droving was briefly resumed during the rail strike of 1912. In Scotland, the last drove over the
Corrieyairack Pass The Corrieyairack Pass (Scottish Gaelic – ''Màm Choire Ghearraig'') is a 770 m (2526 ft) high pass in the Scottish Highlands at . It is notable for the presence of one of General Wade's military roads, built at the time of the Ja ...
is believed to have taken place in 1906. Corrieyairack Pass had also been used by droves of cattle and sheep from the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...
; the last drove from Skye to use the pass occurred "in the closing years of the 19th century".Haldane (1997), P. 221. When cattle were moved by rail by the North-East railway company, initially the drovers accompanied the stock on the goods train; later, they were required to use the passenger trains. Despite the decline in droving, the annual Drovers' Tea in Norwich in 1906 organised by the RSPCA catered for 570. Drovers and other road users could come into conflict. In 1916 a new order compelled farmers and drovers of cattle, sheep, et cetera, to carry lamps at the front and rear of herds or flocks, such lamps "to be visible for a reasonable distance", and swung to and fro on the approach of any vehicle to indicate the presence of an obstruction on the road.


North America and South America

Cattle drives A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River ...
in North America by American
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
s and South American cattle drivers are similar in nature, although distances were often greater; like most routes they started out by following a general geographic route before becoming roadways. They were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century. Particularly common in the western states, such as
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. The peak period for cattle driving was between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, about 27 million cattle were moved during that time. The riders covered long distances. Both riders and stock animals were in need of rest, this resulted in formation of "cow towns" across the frontier. The first of them were Abilene, Wichita and
Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
.


See also

*
Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continu ...
*
Drover (Australian) A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep, cattle, and horses "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, t ...
*
Esker Riada The Esker Riada ( ga, Eiscir Riada) is a system of eskers that stretch across the middle of Ireland, between Dublin and Galway. Geography The Esker Riada is a collection of eskers that passes through the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Wes ...
* Slíghe Chualann *
Stock route A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquially ...
s – roads specified for stock movement in Australia


References

;Bibliography * Addison, Sir William (1980). ''The Old Roads of England''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. . * Haldane, A.R.B. (1997). ''The Drove Roads of Scotland''. Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited. . * Hindle, Brian Paul (1993). ''Roads, Tracks and their Interpretation''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. . * Francisco M. Azcárate, Irene Robleño, Javier Seoane, Pablo Manzano, Begoña Peco. (2012) ''Drove roads as local biodiversity reservoirs: effects on landscape pattern and plant communities in a Mediterranean region''. Applied Vegetation Sciencen/a-n/a ; En ligne : 1-Nov-2012.


Further reading

* Bettey, J.H. (1983). "Livestock Trade in the West Country during the Seventeenth Century", In ''Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society'', vol. 127, (1983), p. 123. * Godwin and Toulson (1977). ''The Drovers' Roads of Wales''. London: Wildwood House.


External links

{{commons category, Droves, Drovers' road *Droving at th
Border Collie Museum
oral history of a 40-mile (63.4 km) cattle drove in 1943
www.geograph.co.uk: photographs of Drover's roads todayPhotograph of two drovers taken in Montgomery in 1885, from Gathering the Jewels